The paths we take can be of our own making, or sometimes circumstances force us down a path we didn’t choose. Sometimes, it’s just the luck of the draw.

“Good People” is a story that playfully ponders questions of class divide and struggle in 21st century South Boston. The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre’s production of Pulitzer Price winner and Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire’s play is superb. It’s fortunately been extended to Dec. 15.

This story is delivered brilliantly in an often funny and captivating manner. Masterfully directed by Rachel Walshe, the cast has mastered spot-on Southie accents and mannerisms, and its foul-mouthed, snappy dialogue.

We begin the journey in blue colar Southie, at a dollar store, where we find single mother Maggie (superbly portrayed by Jeanine Kane) arguing with her younger boss, Stevie (Marc Dante Mancini) about her unreliability. Lady luck has dealt Maggie another lousy hand. She pleads with Stevie to understand that she is late — again — to her $9-an-hour job because her sitter didn’t show up on time to care for her adult daughter, whom we never meet, but learn is disabled.

Maggie’s a middle-aged, single mom with no real job skills. Suddenly she’s unemployed. Maggie discusses her dilemma in the kitchen of her tenement with a pair of other Southie gals who are chatting around Maggie’s table about what she will do to find work. This is where the comic relief comes in, at times getting downright zany. Dottie (with a great portrayal of the lazy landlady by Margaret Melozzi) wonders forcefully how Maggie will pay her rent.

The vulgar, impish Jean (Casey Seymour Kim), meanwhile, is the quintessential caricature of South Boston spite. Jean reveals that she saw Maggie’s old beau, Mike, who escaped the Southie projects to go to college and become a doctor.

Desperation and curiosity lead Maggie downtown where she basically forces her way into Dr. Mike’s office to ask him if he has any work. During the, at times, volatile exchange, we learn that he’s living in the tony suburb of Chestnut Hill, where, she suggests, he must be living a perfect life. Mike does not have a job to offer her. The well put together Mike (Bill Mootos) is the one character who speaks without the Southie accent and attitude.

Maggie knows how to draw his ugly side out as they volley back and forth 30 years after they dated. She’s crass, rude and crude to him, resents his charmed life and feels that she’s entitled to share in some of it. He points out that life in Southie has made her mean and that he’s worked for what he has. She returns fire, saying he’s changed and become “lace curtain” Irish.

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During intermission, the set is transformed into a comfortable suburban home, where Maggie shows up for the party he invited her to but later canceled. Maggie, who didn’t believe it was canceled, finds out he was telling the truth when Mike’s wife, Kate (wonderfully performed by Mia Ellis) mistakes Maggie for one of the caterers who had arrived to collect the unneeded party setup.

The embarrassed Kate, a black college professor who hailed from a charmed life, apologizes profusely for the mixup, and insists that she stay for wine and gourmet cheeses. Maggie does, and proceeds to tell her about Mike’s upbringing that he has never really discussed with her, much to Mike’s chagrin. That’s where things get very intense and we can’t tell whether Maggie is being truthful or lying.

Our journey ends back in the bingo hall. As the bingo numbers are called, we finds out that even when cards are losers, the kindness of others can go a long way. “Good People” is a story that captures the essence of our time and place. The cast excellently delivers the script’s dramatic, funny, poignant, heart-wrenching and complicated twists, just like the road of life itself. If you’ve ever wondered about the path you’re on, how you got there, and if you’ll ever find yourself taking a different route, you’ll want to make reservations to claim one of the very few seats left to see “Good People” at

The Gamm.

The Gamm Theatre is located at 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, R.I. For tickets or more information, visit gammtheatre.org or call 401-723-4266.